


The Widow of Yavin Hall

by AstridMyrna



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Dog BB-8, F/M, Melodrama, Melodramatic, Rescue, Victorian Gothic Romance, Victorian Style, Wet Dream, all the drama, lots of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:18:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13662681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstridMyrna/pseuds/AstridMyrna
Summary: On the anniversary of her husband's death, Rey Dameron walks the misty woods that surround her home of Yavin Hall, when she is accosted by the infamous highwayman, Kylo Ren!





	The Widow of Yavin Hall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NikkiNotions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikkiNotions/gifts).



Very little bliss visited Yavin Hall. Hidden within a lonely wood and skirted with mist for most of the year, it was a place often left empty by the Damerons who escaped it for warmer climes. However, a series of financial woes left the family with little choice but to return to their ancestral home, where their troubles only grew. A blight struck the place, leaving the elder Mr. and Mrs. Dameron dead and their son, Poe, very ill and near-death. Herein is a small bright spot amidst this woesome tale, for Poe formed a deep love for the young maid Rey, who cared for him in both body and spirit. Even though she came from nowhere and had nothing to offer, he married her as soon as he was well enough to stand on his own two feet. For two years they cared for each other, brightening the halls of the gloomy manor with the yips of the Cavalier King Charles spaniel Baron Bartholomew (but was called BB) and splendid garden parties in the summer, when the air was just warm enough to burn off the mist. But alas, it was not meant to last. On a rainy autumn night, when they held a small party with close friends, one had greatly insulted Poe and challenged him to a duel. He told Rey that he had refused the offer, but Rey learned the following night that he had lied to her.

Exactly one year had passed since the terrible incident that left Rey Dameron a widow, alone in an old, cursed manor with the red and white spaniel at her heels. As she put on her mourning clothes and looked up at the cloudy sky that threatened to rain, she decided to challenge the sky that day. She could not bear being in the house any longer and desired a walk in the woods by herself. BB tried to follow her, but she locked the dog in the parlor and listened to him bark in protest as she escaped through the front door.

Tugging her black shawl tighter around her shoulders, she walked up the slight hill and through the mist until she reached the first tree, still young and skinny and pale. It would have many years to catch up to the older, gnarled trees with weathered bark dark with age. Rey let out the breath she held when she crossed through the mist. Her leather shoes shuffled through leaves that fell earlier this year, and for a moment she wanted to shrivel on the cold ground and wait for the snow to suffocate her. A cold breeze wailed overhead as the clouds darkened with what Rey expected to be a frigid rain, if not hail. Demeter must have shared her grief and decided to bring winter early.

Rey paused to catch her breath and lean against one of the oldest trees in the wood. It was heavy work, feeling miserable about her state of affairs. She had food, a home, and a few friends she wrote to and were only a day’s worth of travel away if she felt the urge to visit them; by all accounts, she should have been grateful for the surprising amount of blessings she had been awarded. However, she missed the charm of his easy smile, his infectious energy as they took long walks in these very woods, the bright and blazing passion that propelled him to London to keep up with current politics. He had once told her that in his youth, he had run away from his parents’ southern paradise to join the Royal Navy and had done quite well for himself as he advanced in the ranks--until his ship was captured. He never revealed how he managed to escape and return to Yavin, and now she supposed she would never learn the truth.

A roll of thunder shocked her out of her reverie. As she looked up to the sky once more, rain drops dotted her face. She sighed and turned to return, but stopped when she heard a softer but still startling sort of thunder: the pounding of hooves against hard earth. She turned and saw a great black stallion and his rider charge at her. She hopped up on one of the thick tree roots in hopes of not being run down by the creature, but the horse slowed, and the rider pointed his gun at her face. The man’s rich brown eyes commanded hers, sunken deeply as they were in his sallow face, but her gaze took in his whole person; his build was strong and tall, but he slouched in his seat, his dark hair hanging loosely over the softer features of his face. Even though he was swathed in black, she could see the blossoming bloodstain in his abdomen.

“I require shelter and medical attention. You will lead me to your home and you will get me everything I need, if you wish to live,” he said, the gun wavering in his hand.

She opened her mouth to answer, but he cut her off. “If you scream, I’ll shoot you.”

She nodded and inhaled deeply, slowly, showing that he did not frighten her. They were deep in a wood that he appeared to be unfamiliar with. He could kill her now if she refused him, but by the look of his face he would soon follow her into the hereafter. Still, this was not the place nor the time she wished to die.

“Follow me then,” she said in a low, quiet voice.

He holstered the gun and held his hand out. “It will be too slow on foot.”

The horse snorted and stamped his hind leg as the man helped pull Rey up into the front half of the saddle. When she settled in, she tried to leave him a little space for decency, but he secured her to him with one massive hand pressed against her waist. She held her head low, hoping to hide the blush she felt creeping over her face from the feel of his broad thighs pinning her legs against the stallion’s heaving chest. The man shoved the reins in her hands and ordered her to lead on. Rey knew well enough how to ride, whether it be side saddle or astride, but it was rather difficult to focus on where she was going as she felt her hip rub against his as they trotted down the hill.

She could feel his strength waning as they approached the manor; his body sagged against hers, his hand that was once taut against her stomach now crumpled in her lap. Her groundskeeper, Mr. Artoo, ran up to them with a wild look in his one good eye. Relief flooded Rey until the vagabond gripped her stomach as a silent warning.

“Please, Mr. Artoo! Go and find Mr. Threepio. This man is gravely injured and needs our help,” Rey said as she stopped the horse right before the entrance.

Mr. Artoo scowled but did as he was told, and with the help of the spindly Mr. Threepio, they half-carried the injured man to a private guest chamber. The kindly old groundskeeper and butler pulled Rey outside of the bedroom and spoke in hushed tones with her.

“Did he accost you in any way, miss?”                                                         

“No, he did not, Mr. Artoo. But we must get him a doctor to care for his wound, or else he shall die.”

“I do not like the look of him, Mrs. Dameron, dressed in black and riding a black horse. Why I wouldn’t be surprised if he were a highwayman!” said Mr. Threepio.

Rey looked into the bedroom, where the man dozed on the bed, his blood staining the sheets.

“If we do not get him a doctor, then he shall die within the hour, and how would we know his true intentions for coming? Go and grab the doctor, as quick as you can, Mr. Artoo. Mr. Threepio, I need you to help me stop him from bleeding. Quickly, now!”

While Rey waited for hot water and clean rags to help sop up the blood, she returned to the man’s side. She kept a wary eye on him as she gently shook the man awake.

“I have called a doctor for you, sir. I will need you to remove your shirt so I can dress your wound.”

He grumbled but unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers, then folded back the fabric to reveal the weeping wound in his side.

“I’ve been shot,” he mumbled.

“Is the bullet still in there?” she asked.

His head sank into the pillow, his eyes fluttering close, until Rey risk patting him on the cheek to wake him up.

“Is the bullet still in there?” she repeated.

“Yes,” he whispered at last, before slipping into unconsciousness.

She rose her palm up to his nose and felt the faint warm breath against her skin. Her fingers dropped down to feel for the slow but steady pulse in his neck. Satisfied that he was still alive, she moved to remove his weapons out of his holster, his pockets, and his shoes. When Mr. Threepio returned with the rags and water, she made him inspect the man with more thoroughness as she struggled to plug up his wound while mopping up the fresh blood that oozed out of it.

“I have found a couple more knives, Mrs. Dameron,” he said. “Forgive me, Mrs. Dameron, I do not like this one bit. He does not appear to be a man of middling reputation, much less a good one.”

Rey did not respond to the butler’s worries, but she could not ignore them either. She shivered as she recalled the gun in her face and the solid hand against her stomach, but she knew the face of a wounded animal fighting to survive. However, he would have much to answer for once he woke up again.

Dr. Finnster Ashfield arrived just as Rey was nearly out of clean rags to stopper the stranger’s wound. The doctor extracted the bullet and washed the wound with alcohol before cauterizing it. Rey flinched as she watched the entire procedure, helping where she could.

“I would replace the linens, as he’s bled on them quite a bit,” said Finn once he finished dressing the wound.

“Thank you again. I would appreciate it if we kept this visit secret.”

Finn thumbed his thin mustache and gave her a look of concern. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable leaving a strange man here with you alone. A man who wanders lost in the woods with a bullet in his side is one who is wandering from trouble.”

“I am never alone, doctor, with my staff about the house. The bullet wound is concerning, but he wouldn’t be the first man to engage in a duel and leave mortally wounded.”

He heaved a heavy sigh. “Rey, I do not want to be responsible for the death of another friend--”

Rey placed a hand on his arm and smiled. “Poe was responsible for the choices he made. You did all you could for him, and I greatly appreciate it. If you genuinely fear for my safety, you are welcome to stay here for as long as this man recovers, if you don’t mind staying in dreary old houses.”

His returning smile was wide and brilliant. “I shall make preparations, then.”

“You are, indeed, a good friend Finn.”

“Although I will be as quiet as a mouse, my mind is often running in the very early morning hours, and I will sometimes take a walk out in the fresh air to soothe my nerves.”

“I may have to join you on one of those walks, Finn, for my nerves have been feeling as if they are on fire lately. I believe it is the grief, though, and hopefully it should pass soon.”

*

The stranger moaned in his feverish sleep. Rey was glad that she had extended the invitation to Finn to stay at Yavin Hall, for they took turns at his bed side to pat his brow with a cool rag dipped in lavender water or spoon feed him broth when he stirred long enough to drink it. Rey would embroider by the fire in the meantime, making sure to keep a healthy distance from the man.

During her third shift by his bed, however, he wept in his sleep and cried out “Father! Father!” Rey tossed her embroidery to the side and tried to calm him by wiping his tears away with the rag, but then he grabbed her with a surprising strength and clung to her as if he were a child. Rey let the rag fall and cradled his head as he sobbed.

“Poor man,” she mumbled. “What terrors haunt you? Is this why you’ve come to me so wounded? Has your father been harmed?”

He did not answer her as he slumped against her shoulder and sighed in relief in his sleep. She pressed her fingers against his forehead and felt that the fever had at last broken. Gingerly she laid him back down on the bed, but she held tightly to his hand for the rest of her shift.

In the early afternoon of the next day, the man finally came to full consciousness again. Rey insisted on interviewing the man alone, however, and locked herself in with the stranger to ensure that she wouldn’t be interrupted. He stared at her with wary eyes as she settled herself in a chair at his bedside.

“My weapons are gone,” he stated plainly.

“They are in a safe place. Now that you have been pulled back from the threshold of death, I require an explanation for your injury and your trespassing, but I will start with a name first.”

“I came by my injury because I was shot at and fled the perpetrator by trespassing into your woods that I, you must forgive me, was not aware was owned by any one person. As for my name, I am afraid that if you knew what it was, you would be putting yourself in grave danger.”

“I may be young, but I will not be so easily put off, especially after I saved your life.”

“You only saved it because you feared yours.”

She inhaled sharply and sat up straighter in her chair.

 “You wouldn’t have killed me, because doing so would have meant killing your only chance of saving yourself in the wood. But no matter, my name is Mrs. Rey Dameron, and I demand to know who you are and why you’ve come here.”

He smirked. “‘Demand’…fine. I will tell you my name, but in doing so, you must swear to me to not report me to the authorities.”

“I swear it.”

“Nor must you tell any of your staff my name.”

“I can’t very well have them call you ‘Stranger.’”

“You will if you value you their lives more than you value yours.”

“I swear it, then.”

“You must treat me as though I am a phantom, and that even the thought of uttering my name to any who were to come asking would send you into hysterics. Do you swear it?”

Rey stood tall and fought to keep her voice down.

“I swear it, for heaven’s sake! Enough with these promises and tell me what I must know!”

“My name is Kylo Ren.”

All sound evaporated in the room. Kylo Ren--she should have known it was him from the black attire and the black horse, but she had not recognized his face, as all warrants for his arrest showed him wearing a horrifying mask that looked more like a human skull dipped in silver. 

 Rey fell back on her chair and expelled all air from her lungs, for she had truly damned herself.

“No,” she whispered with numb lips.

“Yes,” he replied.

“But why? What brings you here to these lonely woods? Why were you shot?”

“It will comfort you to know that England’s finest have been patrolling the roads in higher numbers than previous years, and it was my unfortunate luck to run into one with better aim than most. It was again, by better luck, that I entered your wood and became lost in it when I fled my assailant.”

“And what shall I do, if the police come here looking for you?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t turn me in, not after all the effort you took in saving my life,” he said, his face softening. “Are you all right?”

Rey sat up straight and inhaled deeply to feed the growing anger that burned away the fuzzy dizziness in her forehead.

“I’m fine. I’m not used to have criminals as guests, is all.”

“A guest? I’m flattered, but I don’t think your husband would be very appreciative of my presence if he finds out who I really am.”

“My husband is dead.”

“My condolences,” Kylo Ren said softly. “Let me burden you for one more night to recover, and I will steal away in the middle of the night, and you will never hear from me again.”

“That wound will take more than one night to heal. I have a doctor staying here to watch over you as well, until--”

“You swore to me that you would not submit me to the authorities once you knew my name.”

“You are a thief and a _murderer_. I follow the papers, Kylo Ren, as there is very little else to do here. I know that you have killed not only those innocent travelers who refuse to surrender their wealth, but that you went to steal the treasure from the Solo house, killing both Lord Solo and his son, Benjamin just only a few days ago. It was only by the grace of God that you didn’t slay Lady Solo as she slept, you monster!”

“I never denied that I am a monster.”

His frankness shook her but only a moment, but she continued, “To finish my earlier statement, now that you are quite out of reach of death’s hand, I will be submitting you to the authorities so that justice will at long last be served.”

She rose from her chair, shoulders back and solid, and hurried to the door before she could hear another word from him.

“You and the papers have one fact wrong about my history, madam.”

Her hand gripped the door knob, but she turned her whole body to face him. His face was still pale and his skin flush with sweat, but his eyes bored into hers.

“I am Ben Solo,” he said.

Her fingers slipped off the door knob.

“That isn’t possible. Ben Solo is dead, and you just admitted to be his killer.”

“Indeed, I am the remorseful killer of the weakling that was Ben Solo and his father. Some years ago, I was invited by my once-teacher, Mr. Snoke, to join his secret gang filled with only the most cunning highwaymen to haunt all roads leading to London. I would be his right hand man, and I served him in secret for years. I am sure you are asking yourself why would I do such a thing if all my physical needs were cared for, and I was already wealthy. Indeed, I am not unique among those who share my sex in that my soul craved affection and attention, and I happened to find it amongst the worst kinds of people.

“I did not know…no, this is a lie. I knew what kind of man Snoke was, it was just not in my power to leave him until he asked me to do the unspeakable. He ordered me to steal from my own home, and to kill my parents so they would not go searching for me. My father was in the smoking room when I approached him with my gun. He said, ‘Son, whatever trouble you are in, I will do anything to get you out of it.’ Those were his last words to me. You must understand, I did not hate my father. I had loved him, but I foolishly thought the sacrificing his love would bring me greater love with Snoke, which would bring me great happiness as well.

“The moment his soul abandoned his body, I immediately regretted what I had done.  I would have ended my life too had my mother not come down the stairs and witnessed my sin. I fled back to the hideout, but I could not sleep or eat, for my grief and guilt consumed every waking thought. I could not return home, but I could not stay with the gang either. I lied to them about keeping an eye on the roads, thinking I could get away, but the leader, Snoke, suspected me and tried to have me killed. I killed him instead as I fled, but was struck in what would have been a mortal wound had I not found you in the woods.

“I no doubt frightened you with my threats from desperation. You were correct in your earlier assumption that I had no intention to harm you, but I acted cruelly, and for that and my burden I apologize.”

The man shuddered beneath his sheets, his face pale and dewy as if the fever were making its return. Rey clasped her trembling hands together as Kylo Ren told his morbid tale. Now she approached his bedside again, disgusted with his actions yet overcome with heart-wrenching sympathy.

“Where will you go now, once you are well?” she murmured.

“As far as I can go. It is not just the authorities that are on my trail, but my rival, Armitage Hux, and his gang that perhaps fear that I will turn myself in and exchange their lives for mine.”

“But how will you atone for your actions if you run away?”

“The only atonement I will find here is death, Rey.”

“Then turn the other men in and seek justice for yourself.”

“I may have qualms with Hux, but the other men--”

“--are murderers and thieves who will continue to be a danger to others unless you turn them in.”

There was a loud rap on the door.

“Rey?” she heard a call from the other side. “It’s Finn. I’ve come to see the patient, is everything all right?”

“Yes, Finn. I will be with you in a few minutes. Please wait for me in the parlor,” Rey called back.

“I heard voices, Rey. Has he stirred?”

“He has just, please, give us another moment of privacy. I will come and find you soon.”

Rey held her tongue until she heard his footsteps disappear, then returned to Kylo Ren’s bedside and spoke low so none could hear them through the walls.

“Your infamous mask, where is it?”

Oh, she was too close to those black locks of hair that framed his face, and yet she could not pull herself away. His gaze locked onto hers, and he wringed his bottom lip until it flushed red when he released it to speak in equally soft tones.

“I threw it away into a river on my ride here. I wish to renounce the name Kylo Ren and become Ben once more, but I do not believe I could ever be a Solo again.”

The good doctor knocked on the door again, leaving our heroine in quite a dilemma. Kylo Ren said nothing, but his gaze upon her did not look terrified or threatening, but rather that he waited to accept whatever she decided to do. Harboring one she knew to be a criminal would earn her a spot next to him on the gallows, but now that she knew and understood the man behind the mask, she did not wish to see him hanged.

“Rey, is everything all right?” Finn asked, his voice heavy with worry.

“Everything is well, doctor,” Rey answered when she opened the door. “The patient is all yours. I was trying to learn more about who he is and where he came from, but he appears to have suffered a terrible trauma that has left him bereft of all memory of who he once was, save for his given name. Isn’t that right, Ben?”

The bloody criminal nodded meekly before sinking under the covers, moaning. Rey left them to retire in the sitting room to be alone with her thoughts and a cup of tea. BB, spread out luxuriously over the couch, barked a greeting and thumped his tail against the couch cushion until she joined him. She bent over him and pressed her face against the dog’s warm side, her tears soaking the thin white and red hairs.

*

Rey went to her bed chamber early that evening, the knowledge of Ben’s true self weighing heavily in her mind. She hoped for a calm, dreamless sleep, but alas the children of Hypnos wove a strange, terrible dream for the heroine to experience. She strolled in the dreary woods, calling for her husband, when a figure appeared under the shadow of a faraway tree.

“Poe!” she cried out.

“You know who it is,” answered the dark voice of Kylo Ren.

“No! Damnable man, you are not my husband. Why do you follow me?”

With three long strides he was upon her, his massive hands spanning her waist. His fingers dug into the first and thickest layer of black cloth, popping stitches along their seams. She tore at his own loose-buttoned shirt, but the loss of cloth revealed the gleaming muscle beneath and her strength drained away.

“No…no, I cannot have this, I _cannot_ want this!” she wept against him. “You are a villain, and my husband has only been dead a year. You are playing a trick upon my wounded heart.”

To her surprise, Kylo Ren released her, looking at her with the same intense sorrow as when he told his story of regret and loss and hopeful atonement. Her own regret and loss were so much different from his, but his story made her feel a little less lonely in her misery. The feeling of connection seized her, and she shook off the black rags of her dress until they laid in a pile at her naked feet. She took Kylo Ren’s hands and brought them to her neck, then ran them down her bare belly before separating them so she had a hand to warm each thigh. He kissed her neck and her lips with a burning ferocity, leaving her breathless.

Rey awoke and gasped for air, but inhaled black smoke instead. Dizzy and sick, she tried to rise from her bed but fell to the floor. She crawled towards the door, but the deadly haze overpowered her, and she fainted within inches of escape.

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren, now just Ben, jerked awake, teary-eyed from reliving his horrendous crime, but he put his grief aside when he smelled the fatal scent of smoke. Though injured, he left his bed and went to investigate in the hall, only to be blinded by a cloud of smoke coming from the fire blazing on the staircase. Ben returned to his room to wet two handkerchiefs, one for his face and one that he knew that Rey would need if she had not yet escaped. He opened every door until he found, to his horror, his savior crumpled on the floor. He tied the drying cloth over her face and forced open the window, unable to tell if the popping sounds came from the advancing blaze or the stitches in his side. He lifted Rey gently over his shoulder and held her firmly with one arm. Carefully he exited the window and climbed down the slope of the roof, guided by the firelight bursting from below. Blood and sweat mixed with the soot as he scaled down the support beam and onto the ground. He took several shaky steps away from the house before he fell to his knees.

He laid Rey on the grass and removed the cloth to check for any sign of life, but her breath had stopped. He opened her mouth and pushed a breath so weak that her chest didn’t even stir. He rose up and coughed, feeling the ash scorching inside his own lungs, but he couldn’t give up. Rey had saved him, gave him cover when she had the chance to reveal him and send him to the authorities. She _listened_ to him, actually seemed concerned for him--no, she could not die! He inhaled a deeper breath and pushed it into Rey’s lungs. Ah, her breast rises! But she still did not breathe. He dipped down to kiss her dry lips and breathe into her again, and again, and again. By the tenth breath the world spun under his knees and he feared that he would pass out before he could save her. He gulped down a few breaths before dipping down once more.

Her eyes fluttered opened and her frame became racked with coughs.

“How heroic,” said the cold, familiar voice of Armitage Hux.

While Rey fought for breath, Ben stared up at the red-headed man standing just a few feet away with two of his lackeys. The lackeys carried clubs while Hux held a gun in his left hand and Kylo Ren’s discarded silver skull mask in the other.

“Wondering where I found this?” Hux laughed. “Well, perhaps you _aimed_ for the river, but I found this beauty glinting in the sunlight on the bank of the river of these wretched woods. It took a little time, but we soon found your little hide out.”

“Please, let the woman and her staff live. They had no inkling of my true identity,” Ben pleaded.

“Pity for them, those groveling old men could barely put up a fight, but they served as excellent kindling,” Hux said, hurled the mask into the fire, and aimed at Rey, “I’ll send your angel to heaven before I deliver you to hell, Kylo Ren.”

Ben curled over Rey in a desperate effort to shield her, and flinched when he heard the gunshot. However, he felt no new wound. Gingerly he lifted his head, and through the veil of his black hair he saw Hux had fallen over, dead, and his lackeys running but falling one after the other. At first Ben thought that they had been slain by a ghost, but then he saw Finn running out from the cover of the woods, gun aimed at Ben.

“Release her, Kylo Ren!” Finn shouted.

Ben obeyed, holding both arms up in surrender. Rey sat up, wheezing as she held her hand out towards the good doctor.

“Please, Finn! He is a friend who has saved my life! Please put your gun down, and let me explain.”

Though the look on Finn’s face was quite severe, he lowered his gun so he could help Rey move farther away from the house fire. They hid in the edge of the woods, where both Rey and Ben explained everything to the doctor, who was now stitching Ben back up with his medical kit that he carried with his gun on his nightly walks. Finn finished the operation when Ben insisted that he had to flee now, now that he had wasted his chance of possibly saving himself by turning Armitage Hux, who was worth more than all the gang together, was dead.

“I will come with you,” Rey said, and silenced them when they both protested. “Finn, I will stay long enough to bury Mr. Artoo and Mr. Threepio, and be witness to your heroics so that you are justly rewarded, but in truth nothing holds me here. Poe has long since been dead due to his folly, and this house that we all could barely stand to live in is gone. I have no family, no means, no other friends except for you, dear Finn.”

She was interrupted by a yip in the distance, followed by the impatience grunting of a horse. Rey whistled, and BB emerged from the bushes, his beautiful hair tangled and singed, but his eyes wild with excitement.

“And dear BB!” she squealed when the dog ran to her lap, but she hacked out a cough. “But I fear I could not take such a lovably noisy dog with me on new adventures. Perhaps he would have a happier home with you, Finn. He loves you almost as much as he loved Poe.”

As if on cue, BB abandoned Rey to leap in Finn’s lap, and the man rubbed his hands vigorously over the dog’s body like Poe once did. Rey stood to join Ben, who observed all of this silently as he inspected his horse. Finn stood up as well, the momentary softness in his face disappeared.

“Finn, he saved my life. We can trust him.”

“He saved your life, but for what purpose?”

Ben cut in, “Because she had saved mine. What I would like to know is what made you think that I would go along with your fantasies, Rey? Exile is not an easy life. I have a little money hidden, but we can never be wealthy or else we will be caught, and if we are caught we will both be hanged. Why would you risk so much for me, when we barely know each other?”

She stood toe to toe with him, looking up and down at the firm flesh peeking out from rips and tears of his shirt. Her eyes turned heavenwards and his face was close, his shoulders bent over so she would not have to speak so loudly for her words to reach his ears.

“I want to know you,” she whispered.

She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him, but her mind was in such a dizzing haze from the heat and the smoke that she fainted in his arms.

*

Once Rey had recovered her senses, she was more determined than ever to join Ben in his exile. After she buried Mr. Artoo and Mr. Threepio, she left Finn with BB and a hefty sum as a reward for taking down one of the most vile highwaymen in England, then joined Ben at the docks with two tickets to America that she purchased with her inheritance and his stash of funds. Once the island disappeared among the waves, Rey and Ben Skywalker (the name of Ben’s uncle, an eccentric that travelled to the East and was rumored to have joined a monastery) went below deck to snuggle under the thin blanket of their cot to get to know each other better.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was quite a project that really tested my abilities with style. A bit over the top, but hope you enjoyed it, and happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
